Oregon Wild lists 10 imperiled places in state

Oregon Wild, trying to draw attention to its campaign against intensive logging in Bureau of Land Management forests, put Oregons O&C forests atop its new list of the 10 Most Endangered Places in the state.

The conservation group opposes HR 1526, a bill pending in Congress and supported by Reps. Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader and Greg Walden, that could privatize 1.5 million acres of public forests.

"These forests are in our backyards – they are the places that give us clean drinking water, old-growth forests to hike in, and a foundation for our tourism and recreation economy," says Sean Stevens, Oregon Wild executive director.

The group took recommendations from several other conservation organizations in compiling its fifth-annual list.

9. Wallowa-Whitman National Forest – threatened by the Snow Basin logging project and other large-scale logging in fragile forests and roadless areas

The tenth and final item on the list was Waldo Lake, which Oregon Wild says is threatened by motorboats and float planes that spoil quiet recreation experiences and threaten the lakes purity. But while the report was being drafted, the Oregon State Legislature permanently banned float planes from the lake.

For more information: http://www.oregonwild.org/about/press-room/reports-and-fact-sheets/10-most-endangered-places-2013.

Steve Law can be reached at 503-546-5139 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.